Jeffrey A. Singer
Recent press reports state that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is considering having the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adopt Denmark’s model childhood vaccination schedule. Denmark’s childhood vaccination schedule recommends protection against fewer diseases than the current US schedule (e.g., Denmark typically targets vaccines against around 10 diseases compared to 16–18 in the US).
The US CDC has traditionally set a unified recommended schedule that influences state policies, insurers, federal programs, and public expectations. However, its European Union counterpart, the European CDC (ECDC), does not set legally binding immunization schedules or mandates for EU member states. Vaccination policy in Europe remains a “national competence,” meaning each country establishes its own immunization guidelines, schedules, and requirements through its own public health authorities and advisory bodies.
The EU vaccination information portal states:
Each EU/EEA country is responsible for its own national public health policy, including its national immunisation programme and vaccination schedule.
The ECDC’s role is mainly advisory and scientific. It monitors vaccine-preventable diseases, promotes data sharing, and supports countries in coordinating their immunization efforts. What it doesn’t do is issue binding, one-size-fits-all vaccine mandates or schedules for the entire EU.
For example, Germany’s and the UK’s immunization schedules more closely resemble those in the US, while Nordic countries recommend fewer vaccines. Denmark’s schedule reflects Danish policymakers’ assessment of disease risk, health priorities, and cultural attitudes—appropriate for Denmark, but not a universal template.
I have argued here and here that the federal government should leave medical and scientific debates to scientists and clinicians, and that Congress should restore the CDC to its original mission—one that the European CDC follows.
In a New York Post op-ed, I wrote:
Congress should restore the CDC to its original role as the Communicable Disease Center, focusing on support and coordination, rather than bureaucratic overreach and political signaling.
The irony is hard to miss. Europe has decided that a centralized public health authority should not control immunization schedules; the ECDC provides surveillance and scientific support while allowing each country to set its own policies based on local needs and values. Meanwhile, in the United States, federal officials seem eager to adopt a foreign country’s schedule wholesale, effectively supporting the idea that there must be a single, nationally endorsed answer. Instead of learning from Europe’s decentralization, Washington appears determined to stick with its top-down approach—just with a different set of directives.
Public health works best when it respects pluralism, competition, and consent—not command-and-control uniformity.
Europe has deliberately embraced decentralization; Washington is doubling down on central planning. Instead of importing Denmark’s solutions, we should adopt Europe’s restraint. Congress should restore the CDC to its original mission.
It should allow state and local public health authorities to create vaccination guidance tailored to their own populations and circumstances. Patients should make decisions in consultation with their clinicians. And Washington should stop pretending that a single federal blueprint can or should control everyone.